Bloc Québécois targets NDP over niqabs, pipelines in controversial new ad
Separatist party wants to ban face covering during citizenship ceremony and voting
The Bloc Québécois is facing criticism for a new campaign ad that aims to win back support from the NDP in Quebec.
The ad, released online today, shows oil leaking from a pipeline then morphing into a niqab — and slams the New Democrats for their position on both issues.
- Federal government to request stay of niqab ban decision until appeal is heard
- Niqab ruling propels debate on courts vs. politicians defining laws
The message drew swift criticism online, with NDP spokesperson Karl Bélanger tweeting the "National Front" has entered the campaign — a reference to the far-right party in France.
Le Front National vient de faire son entrée dans la campagne.
—@KarlBelangerIn the ad, the Bloc Québécois warns a new pipeline is coming "even if we don't want it" if Thomas Mulcair's NDP wins the election.
It also says Mulcair has no problem with a niqab being worn during a citizenship ceremony, a reference to a Federal Court of Appeal decision this week that ruled a woman could wear a niqab while swearing the oath.
In an interview, Bloc spokesperson Dominique Vallières said the ad was only meant to point out his party's positions on the two issues.
When it comes to the niqab, Vallières said the Bloc would go farther than the Conservatives, who announced Friday it will seek a stay of the court decision in Ishaq's case.
"They want it just for citizenship," Vallières said of the Conservatives.
"We say the niqab should not be allowed for the citizenship ceremony and to vote."
He also said nothing sinister should be read into the decision to transition directly from a blob of oil to a niqab.
"There's nothing to link between the two," he said. "I think the people that did the ad connected the two because both are dark in colour."
Vallieres added that polls suggest many Quebecers agree with the Bloc's policy on the niqab.
Online, however, people were quick to slam the ad as xenophobic and racist.
Disappointed <a href="https://twitter.com/GillesDuceppe">@GillesDuceppe</a> would condone this trash. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cdnpoli?src=hash">#cdnpoli</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elxn42?src=hash">#elxn42</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BlocQuebecois">@BlocQuebecois</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/racist?src=hash">#racist</a> Thought he wz better <a href="https://t.co/SlHh7WosyH">https://t.co/SlHh7WosyH</a>
—@Sue_LibAs Gilles Duceppe trails by more than 30 points in his own riding, the Bloc Quebecois goes full racist. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elxn42?src=hash">#elxn42</a>
—@LukewSavage
Mulcair has previously criticized the Harper government's decision to appeal the ruling.
"I see that Muslims are often scapegoats for political debate. And that, I find it heartbreaking," he said in June.
Not everyone in the party agrees with his position, however.
Jean-François Delisle, an NDP candidate in the Mégantic—L'Érable, told The Canadian Press on Friday he believes the niqab should not be allowed while taking the citizenship oath.
He said if Mulcair opens the constitution to abolish the Senate, he could also take the opportunity to redefine the limits of religious freedom.
with files from Canadian Press